I want to start off my introduction to the forums by presenting my ideas for a Mega Man fan game... with a twist. Yes, as the title states, this is a crossover with one of my favorite shows, Steven Universe. This is still early in the ideas stage, so no images as of yet. However, any feedback is appreciative!

After some wonderful feedback and ideas, as well as a base for Stevonnie, I have made some progress in the ideas stage! But now, I'm going to need some ideas for the stages. i want them to fit as much as their personality, powers, and/or backstory as possible. The only stage idea I have right now is the intro stage, which will take place in Beach City. Now, it's time for some brainstorming!
But that doesn't mean I'm done with the bosses or the playable characters. Remember, these are just ideas for now, and they are always subject to change.

Playable Characters

Stevonnie: Plays similar to Zero. Uses Rose's sword and shield. They can dash and stick to walls with the sword. They also have a bubble shield, but that takes up energy. Instead of getting the Gem's weapons, Stevonnie will get different skills, such as the spiked shield and healing abilities, with the exeception of the Gem Destablizer, which, in this game, only stuns. For the most part, they cannot fight with weaknesses, but with actual skills.

Mega Man: The usual Mega Man we all know and love, with charged shots and slides, along with his robot dog, Rush. Unlike Stevonnie, Mega Man can acquire the Gem's weapons and use them to his advantage.

*Robo-Peridot
Weapon: Ferro Magnet (Gathers ferromagnetic energy as you charge it. Weak on its own,but if metallic objects are nearby, then they'll be attracted by the magnetic pull. The more metallic objects, the more powerful the weapon will be.)
Skill #5: Limb Enhancers ( A weaker version of Peridot's original Limb Enhancers. Allows you to Boost Dash and Double Jump.)
Weakness: Pearl Spear

*Robo-Lapis
Weapon: Water Wings (Can be used to glide temporarily with little energy cost, but can also be thrown at enemies for a bit extra.)
Skill #6: Heal (Self-explanatory.)
Weakness: Ferro Magnet

*Cyborg Bismuth [Extra] (We'll get on her more later in development.)
Weapon: Breaking Point

I plan to have the levels be dependent on which character you choose, so the character can adapt their own skills.

I need some ideas on stage design, to fit with the character's personalities, and, of course, the plot.

Seems like a farfetched concept... But I'm certain it could have some life. Are you planning on including Mega Man characters? One warning when it comes to using pre-established characters is you can be limited on what their abilities could be, since fans wouldn't want to see them do anything too out of character.

I'd recommend writing some design documents that explain you plans for how you want everything in particular to work, to get your ideas more fleshed out. Write down all the player's abilities, the enemies, how the bosses fight, stages, soforth.

Also one point of advice, be sure to design the bosses so their weaknesses interfere with their fight pattern in some way, rather than simply dealing more damage. Don't make it cumbersome to hit a boss with their weakness.

Thank you for your feedback. Like I said earlier, I just pulled these ideas from my head, like a proof of concept. It will take me awhile to plan out my ideas more and give more detail, and even longer to make those ideas into a game. Again, I thank you for your feedback. As for Mega Man characters, it is a possibility.

This is a really cool idea, especially because the gems all have a variety of cool abilities that would make for very fun powers. However, I'm not sure why you'd use "robo-" versions of the Steven Universe characters. I know that, since I'm a huge fan of Steven Universe myself, I'd much rather play against the actual gems I know and love than "robo-" versions. If you need an excuse to have Steven fighting the Crystal Gems, you could always come up with a reason to make them corrupted or mind controlled or from the past or something.

Steven might not even be the best playable character, since he isn't really the offensive type. More of a defensive kind of guy. At least, I'm not sure how you could pull off an offensive Steven since charging the shield to throw seems a bit inconvenient... Usually he's the type to talk his way out of a tricky situation, not punch. Stevonnie or Rose or another crystal gem might be better.

(08-06-2017, 06:06 AM)NaOH Wrote: This is a really cool idea, especially because the gems all have a variety of cool abilities that would make for very fun powers. However, I'm not sure why you'd use "robo-" versions of the Steven Universe characters. I know that, since I'm a huge fan of Steven Universe myself, I'd much rather play against the actual gems I know and love than "robo-" versions. If you need an excuse to have Steven fighting the Crystal Gems, you could always come up with a reason to make them corrupted or mind controlled or from the past or something.

Steven might not even be the best playable character, since he isn't really the offensive type. More of a defensive kind of guy. At least, I'm not sure how you could pull off an offensive Steven since charging the shield to throw seems a bit inconvenient... Usually he's the type to talk his way out of a tricky situation, not punch. Stevonnie or Rose or another crystal gem might be better.

Excited to see where this goes!!

Thank you for the ideas! I have decided to make the only playable characters (so far) will be Mega Man and Stevonnie (I'll find some way to fit Mega Man in the story without making it a rehash of Wolds Collide). The reason I made the Gems into "robos" is because it fits with the Robot Master theme. I didn't want to use "Woman" because I feel it's too generic. My ideas are slowly but surely developing. As you can see, I put some ideas on the original post.

Oddly enough, I'm working on a mega man/steven universe crossover game as well. I have some early sprite work done for the 6 gems, same ones as you funny enough. I even have stevonnie sprites done for it! (Though I'm redoing them to make them more zero like)

I just haven't fully announced it, mainly because I'm working on a mega man engine for myself. But also that I want to get at least a engine demo to show, not to have a repeat of mega man world/mega world F, where I burned out...

I'm not trying to deter you, in fact the opposite! I'm happy that there are mega man and steven universe fans that want to make games about them. Hell, I probably might just go back to world F (Really need to find a better name for it...) and let you have this one!

(08-06-2017, 08:04 PM)Thojoewhit Wrote: Oddly enough, I'm working on a mega man/steven universe crossover game as well. I have some early sprite work done for the 6 gems, same ones as you funny enough. I even have stevonnie sprites done for it! (Though I'm redoing them to make them more zero like)

I just haven't fully announced it, mainly because I'm working on a mega man engine for myself. But also that I want to get at least a engine demo to show, not to have a repeat of mega man world/mega world F, where I burned out...

I'm not trying to deter you, in fact the opposite! I'm happy that there are mega man and steven universe fans that want to make games about them. Hell, I probably might just go back to world F (Really need to find a better name for it...) and let you have this one!

Fascinating! Did you have any other ideas for the game? Maybe, just maybe, we could work together on this little project. I'm still learning Game Maker, as well as planning to use the Mega Engine, so this project is still going to be in the idea phase for awhile, but if you have any good ideas, then by all means, tell me! I'll even credit you for anything you give me. Like I said, I'm really new at game design, so it will take time for this game to be completed. Thank you for feedback!

(08-06-2017, 08:04 PM)Thojoewhit Wrote: Oddly enough, I'm working on a mega man/steven universe crossover game as well. I have some early sprite work done for the 6 gems, same ones as you funny enough. I even have stevonnie sprites done for it! (Though I'm redoing them to make them more zero like)

I just haven't fully announced it, mainly because I'm working on a mega man engine for myself. But also that I want to get at least a engine demo to show, not to have a repeat of mega man world/mega world F, where I burned out...

I'm not trying to deter you, in fact the opposite! I'm happy that there are mega man and steven universe fans that want to make games about them. Hell, I probably might just go back to world F (Really need to find a better name for it...) and let you have this one!

Fascinating! Did you have any other ideas for the game? Maybe, just maybe, we could work together on this little project. I'm still learning Game Maker, as well as planning to use the Mega Engine, so this project is still going to be in the idea phase for awhile, but if you have any good ideas, then by all means, tell me! I'll even credit you for anything you give me. Like I said, I'm really new at game design, so it will take time for this game to be completed. Thank you for feedback!

First off

Here's my stevonnie sheet, you can use it for your project.

While I can't actively work with you, as I'm still working on my engine, I can give you some idea's.

- Since you're using Robot Masters instead of the gems themselves, I have a idea. Since, in the show, gems can be used to power things, maybe wily puts them in the robot masters as a power source!

- I suggest adding a intro stage, since bismuth has 7 letter and theirs only 6 RMs. You can put the B in the intro stage.

(08-06-2017, 08:04 PM)Thojoewhit Wrote: Oddly enough, I'm working on a mega man/steven universe crossover game as well. I have some early sprite work done for the 6 gems, same ones as you funny enough. I even have stevonnie sprites done for it! (Though I'm redoing them to make them more zero like)

I just haven't fully announced it, mainly because I'm working on a mega man engine for myself. But also that I want to get at least a engine demo to show, not to have a repeat of mega man world/mega world F, where I burned out...

I'm not trying to deter you, in fact the opposite! I'm happy that there are mega man and steven universe fans that want to make games about them. Hell, I probably might just go back to world F (Really need to find a better name for it...) and let you have this one!

Fascinating! Did you have any other ideas for the game? Maybe, just maybe, we could work together on this little project. I'm still learning Game Maker, as well as planning to use the Mega Engine, so this project is still going to be in the idea phase for awhile, but if you have any good ideas, then by all means, tell me! I'll even credit you for anything you give me. Like I said, I'm really new at game design, so it will take time for this game to be completed. Thank you for feedback!

First off

Here's my stevonnie sheet, you can use it for your project.

While I can't actively work with you, as I'm still working on my engine, I can give you some idea's.

- Since you're using Robot Masters instead of the gems themselves, I have a idea. Since, in the show, gems can be used to power things, maybe wily puts them in the robot masters as a power source!

- I suggest adding a intro stage, since bismuth has 7 letter and theirs only 6 RMs. You can put the B in the intro stage.

- I have a wily boss idea, the Cluster Devil!

That's about it. Hope your project goes well! You have my support!

Thank you for the Stevonnie sprites and ideas! Here are my responses.

- I was actually thinking about that! I was also thinking that the Gems would be playable characters after release.

-I do have plans for an intro stage, but I could have an extra Robot Gem, so I don't know if the intro stage will contain a Bismuth letter.

-As much as I like the idea of a Cluster Devil, I think that the Cluster should be a separate boss, and not as a devil. My idea for a devil would be something more along Topaz Devil (a Devil that both splits and fuses), but we'll see.

It could be difficult to implement multiple playable characters if you've already designed stages with one specific character in mind. Not without screwing up the game's flow or difficulty. Think about how they have to completely redo the levels for those Shovel Knight expansions.

I'd recommend you keep that as an afterthought for now, but see what you can do to implement the possibility.

(09-06-2017, 12:28 AM)1337gamer15 Wrote: It could be difficult to implement multiple playable characters if you've already designed stages with one specific character in mind. Not without screwing up the game's flow or difficulty. Think about how they have to completely redo the levels for those Shovel Knight expansions.

I'd recommend you keep that as an afterthought for now, but see what you can do to implement the possibility.

Well, you may be right, but I also want the Gems to help in some way. I know that Bismuth (once she is beaten) will be alongside Auto and sell special upgrades for your weapons.

This sounds cool, but I'm probably extremely biased because I love Steven Universe.

...As a side note, 1337gamer stated to make sure that boss weakness cause some sort of disruption in the fight rather than deal more damage, and that's really stupid. Barely any games did that, and it's a useless detail that really shouldn't have taken priority over other tips for the game.

...As a side note, 1337gamer stated to make sure that boss weakness cause some sort of disruption in the fight rather than deal more damage, and that's really stupid. Barely any games did that, and it's a useless detail that really shouldn't have taken priority over other tips for the game.

Thanks for giving you're support! However, 1337gamer did give me a good idea. It will disrupt the pattern, but it will also make them perform a powerful attack, therefore, making the fight a little more difficult.

"There's a lot to see in this life. I'm not wasting it here."- Jon Jafari

(13-06-2017, 09:10 PM)Robo-Rose Wrote: it will also make them perform a powerful attack, therefore, making the fight a little more difficult.

That's... what? That defeats the whole point of the weakness, it's supposed to make the boss easier.

[spoiler="Funnily enough, in my MaGMML2 level... spoilers"]Quarantine Woman actually does get harder if you use the bees on her, but it's a pretty minor detail because it only takes like 5 bees to bring her down. (If you have exactly one bee and use that on her then it would make the fight harder, I guess?)[/spoiler]

Regardless, I would say, I actually think having the boss take artificially more damage against certain weapons is pretty dumb, because it makes the fights too easy. If the fights were too hard to be beaten without the weakness, they should be made easier. Otherwise the weakness is just a "skip the fight for free pass."

Perhaps it makes sense in Quick Man's level, because you have to strategise whether to use your ammo for the lasers or for the boss fight. But boss fights are hard enough that it usually takes a number of tries to beat them; having to redo the whole level if one runs out of lives can really cause one to come away from the game with a bad taste in one's mouth -- especially with Quick Man, who has a hard stage as well for first-time players. This means, for the most part, I always feel obliged to use a boss's weakness in order to beat it and save myself the pain of replaying the whole level, which isn't very fun.

One way in which MaGMML2 really improves boss fights is that there is no penalty for failing against them -- you'll respawn right away in the boss corridor and not have to worry about running out of lives. So there is no need for a weakness to make the fight easier.

tl;dr: Explicit weaknesses aren't fun because they let you skip a boss fight with no thought. So they just function as deodorant for a boss fight that is too hard. Therefore, just get the difficulty right, and don't have a weakness. (And/or give infinite lives.)

(13-06-2017, 09:10 PM)Robo-Rose Wrote: it will also make them perform a powerful attack, therefore, making the fight a little more difficult.

That's... what? That defeats the whole point of the weakness, it's supposed to make the boss easier.

[spoiler="Funnily enough, in my MaGMML2 level... spoilers"]Quarantine Woman actually does get harder if you use the bees on her, but it's a pretty minor detail because it only takes like 5 bees to bring her down. (If you have exactly one bee and use that on her then it would make the fight harder, I guess?)[/spoiler]

Regardless, I would say, I actually think having the boss take artificially more damage against certain weapons is pretty dumb, because it makes the fights too easy. If the fights were too hard to be beaten without the weakness, they should be made easier. Otherwise the weakness is just a "skip the fight for free pass."

Perhaps it makes sense in Quick Man's level, because you have to strategise whether to use your ammo for the lasers or for the boss fight. But boss fights are hard enough that it usually takes a number of tries to beat them; having to redo the whole level if one runs out of lives can really cause one to come away from the game with a bad taste in one's mouth -- especially with Quick Man, who has a hard stage as well for first-time players. This means, for the most part, I always feel obliged to use a boss's weakness in order to beat it and save myself the pain of replaying the whole level, which isn't very fun.

One way in which MaGMML2 really improves boss fights is that there is no penalty for failing against them -- you'll respawn right away in the boss corridor and not have to worry about running out of lives. So there is no need for a weakness to make the fight easier.

tl;dr: Explicit weaknesses aren't fun because they let you skip a boss fight with no thought. So they just function as deodorant for a boss fight that is too hard. Therefore, just get the difficulty right, and don't have a weakness. (And/or give infinite lives.)

/rant

It's really difficult to perfectly balance out the difficulty. The reason they get stronger is because you used something they are weak to.I didn't mean that to contradict. I just want to add a bit of challenge to the mix, which is why I'm planning to have a normal and hard mode. The normal mode will be just like normal Mega Man, where weaknesses just do more damage, while hard mode,while still dealing extra damage, gives the Robo-Gem reaction attack as well as extra invincibility frames. But the main focus for me right now is stage layout, and I wonder if you guys/ladies have any ideas. Thank you for more feedback!

"There's a lot to see in this life. I'm not wasting it here."- Jon Jafari

Might I suggest adding Lion as Stevonnie's "Rush?" He could be made up of two functions; to supply healing items from his mane, and to carry you across gaps via repeated portal jumps. Just a suggestion, tho.

I must admit I am perhaps a tad biased...

Edit: Oh! As for stages, if the main world here is Steven's, I've got some ideas:

Lapis could be at the Great Sea Spire or the Warp Point, and it should be a combination water and land level as you scale the tower(maybe add some callbacks to Cheeseburger Backpack?).

Amethyst I was thinking could either be the Prime Kindergarten or perhaps the train she rides to the Kindergarten, while Jasper would be the Beta Kindergarten.

Peridot could be a space level taking place on the hand ship.

Bismuth could be at her forge, making it an underground/lava level.

Pearl...hm. I'm thinking maybe Rose's Garden? Or possibly the Battlefield seen in Rose's Scabbard, or the Ruins.

And Garnet could be in some kind of forest or temple reminiscent of the settings seen in Garnet's Universe.